ANTIDOTE RONALD OPHUIS
13 J A N - 2 4 F E B 2 0 2 4
Upstream Gallery proudly presents a new solo exhibition by Ronald Ophuis. In ANTIDOTE, he shows recent paintings and a selection of previously unseen early works on paper. These pieces share a common focus on life subjects such as the sense of belonging, migration, pain, and solace. These topics also address current political issues. The relationship between art and politics is versatile. Ophuis seizes the possibilities of art to change the existing political and social reality through disruption. By identifying with the painted characters and their context, his works can provide access to experiences relevant to our moral knowledge and judgment, by blending fiction and truth. Ophuis’ paintings can evoke strong emotional reactions and even lead to moral outrage or sadness about the fates of painted characters. The works in this exhibition demonstrate that he can do this in a way that preserves humanity, serving as an antidote to an often soulless world filled with realistic violence The new series of large paintings highlight the aforementioned themes against the backdrop of Ophuis’ current artistic interests: exploring the possibilities of visualising contemporary rural nature, processing trauma, and depicting peace. Where depicting violence and war is a common thread in art history and Ophuis’ oeuvre, painting abstract themes such as trauma and peace proves extremely complex. In conversations with art historian Anneleen de Jong, Ophuis was confronted with whether he could name an artwork from history that depicts peace, and whether he could create a painting himself that somehow relates to the imagination of peace. This turned out to be both a confronting and inspiring challenge for Ophuis. In these recent paintings, he attempts to visualise the concept of “peace” and the process of “making peace with something” from a contemporary painting perspective, realising that providing a satisfying answer to the question may be doomed to fail.
“The artist and the political activist are one. They are both shapers of the future reality.” Larry Neal
Dounia en Haziem, Nederland 2022, 2022/2023 Oil on canvas 140 x 90 cm
One of the key works of the exhibition is a painting that, in all its drama, shows a sheep, half-naked and vulnerable, being sheared by a sheep shearer with a North African background. The painted context is unusual for someone with a migration background, who is often depicted in an urban or domestic setting.
Karim, Amsterdam-N Oil on c 340 x 525 c
Noord, 2022., 2023 canvas cm (3 parts)
The other monumental painting in the exhibition d Asian-Dutch woman surrounded by her chickens peaceful atmosphere, making it universally recogn for everyone. While this work stems from love for theme of migration and raises questions about ho
depicts a yard in Amsterdam-Noord with a young s. The painting exudes an idyllic, empathetic, and nisable and offering the possibility of identification r his adopted daughter, it also sheds light on the ow we perceive identity.
Bobo, Amsterdam-No Oil on ca 340 x 450 cm
oord, 2023., 2023 anvas m (3 parts)
Schaap, Amsterd Oil on c 200 x 3
dam, 2022, 2023 canvas 300 cm
Other paintings in the exhibition build on the themes for which Ophuis gained recognition with his earlier wo conflicts and the mental suffering that ensues.
The impetus for the work Gacaca, Weeping Woman. The genocide trials, Rwanda 2004 (2014-2018) wa terrible drama that arose from the genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1995. Gacaca is a traditional le which a confession from a not yet proven guilty suspect resulted in a much lower penalty than if a suspect d was still found guilty. This system can be seen as a variant of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in a crime, the silence or denial of the committed crime by the perpetrator is an additional heavy traumatic ex all its directness and rawness, brings the cruelty of history back to the reality in which both the accused and after acts of violence. A reality in which perpetrators were often neighbours or fellow villagers of victims, an to interact with each other.
ork: depicting violence during
as the legal settlement of the egal system from Rwanda, in denied or remained silent and n South Africa. For victims of xperience. The painting, with d the victims find themselves nd a new way had to be found
Gacaca, Weeping woman. the genocide trials. Rwanda 2004. 2014-2018 oil on canvas 200 x 340 cm
Zuiderwoude, 2023 Oil on canvas 40 x 50 cm
Zuiderwoude, 2023 Oil on canvas 40 x 50 cm
Sheep, 2023 Oil on canvas 40 x 50 cm
Young Goat, 2023 Oil on canvas 40 x 50 cm
Amsterdam-Noord, 2023 Oil on canvas 40 x 50 cm
Amsterdam-Noord, 2023 Oil on canvas 40 x 50 cm
Gaza I, 2009 oil on linen 60 x 50 cm
Rape Victim East Congo. 2020 (I), 2023 Oil on canvas 50 x 40 cm
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, especially its eastern region, has been labeled as the “Rape Capital of the World,” with the prevalence and severity of various forms of sexual violence deemed the most severe globally. Rape is frequently employed as a tool of warfare in Congo, proving highly effective as it not only inflicts harm on its immediate victims but also devastates entire communities. While women are primarily targeted, sexual violence against men is also common.
Rape Victim East Congo. 2020 (II), 2023 Oil on canvas 50 x 40 cm
Denis Mukwege is a Congolese gynecologist. He founded and works in Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, where he specializes in the treatment of women who have been raped by armed rebels. In 2018, Mukwege and Iraqi Yazidi human rights activist Nadia Murad were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for “their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict”.
Denis Mukwege (I), 2023 Oil on canvas 50 x 40 cm
Denis Mukwege (II), 2023 Oil on canvas 50 x 40 cm
Volodymyr Zelensky. 2022, 2023 Oil on canvas 50 x 40 cm
Stompe Toren R Oil on ca 60 x 90
Ransdorp, 2023 anvas 0 cm
Flowers, 2023 Oil on canvas 65 x 50 cm
Flowers, 2023 Oil on canvas 50 x 40 cm
Study: Arab Spring. Syria 2011, 2013-2014 Oil paint and oil pastel on paper 50 x 65 cm
Arab Spring, 2019-2023 Oil on paper 30 x 24 cm
Treinkaping De Punt 1977, 2021 Oil pastel on paper 25 x 30 cm
Olive Tree. Palestine, 2016 Oil pastel on paper 25 x 30
Haan, 2021 Oil pastel on paper 30 x 24 cm
Ransdorp, Stompe Toren, 2023 Oil pastel on paper 21 x 29,5 cm
Olive Tree. Palestine , 2016-2023 Oil on paper 50 x 65 cm
Male Rape Victims, Congo 2020, 2021 oil pastel on paper 24 x 30 cm
Karim, Amsterdam-Noord, 2022., 2023 Oil pastel on paper 24 x 30 cm
Bobo, Amsterdam-Noord 2023, 2023 Acrylic on paper 21 x 30 cm
Dounia en Haziem, Nederland 2023, 2023 Acrylic on paper 29 x 21 cm
Dounia en Haziem, Nederlands 2023, 2023 Acrylic on paper 29 x 21 cm
Widow / Sebrenica / Bosnia 2005, 2023 Oil on paper 37 x 29,5
Sebrenica 2005 (WIdows), 2023 Acrylic on paper 29,5 x 41 cm
There is always a tension between attraction and repulsion in Ophuis’ work: the paintings contain a beauty but cause a shudder at the same time. With his distinctive paint treatment and meticulous compositions, Ophuis strategically makes use of that which the aesthetic of oil painting offers him. But the subjects he choses are usually confrontational, expecting the viewer to take a stand on what is depicted. With the power of painting, Ophuis challenges the viewer to relate to the content of the work. Ronald Ophuis (1968) lives and works in Amsterdam. He studied at the Aki Academy of Fine Arts in Enschede and the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. He won various awards including the Jeanne Oosting Prijs (2004), the Charlotte Köhler Prijs (1998) and the Kunstprijs Provincie Overijssel (1997). He had solo exhibitions in the Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam, Jan Cunen Museum Oss and in a variety of international galleries. His work was also shown in a large variety of group exhibitions in The Netherlands and abroad, including the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Museum Arnhem, Museum De Paviljoens Almere, Fondation Francès Senlis, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Kunstraum Innsbruck, Kunsthal Rotterdam and Stedelijk Museum Zwolle. His work is included in leading collections of private, corporate and museum collections such as the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Centraal Museum Utrecht and Museum De Fundatie Zwolle.
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